One of our customers has recently brought this to our attention and upon a little bit of research we have some more details for you.

This scam works like this. You receive an email claiming that you have been charged for an airline ticket. The email will claim that your credit card has been charged and there may be an attachment which appears to be the e-ticket and/or receipt. The attachment does not contain an e-ticket and if you open it, malicious software may be downloaded into your computer. This malicious software is then used by scammers to steal passwords for online banking or other personal information or documents that you have stored on your computer.

If you receive an unexpected email like this do not open it or any of the attachments, just delete the email. If you are not sure, then contact the airline directly to confirm if a ticket was purchased in your name. Do not use the contact details provided in the email, rather look them up yourself and then contact the airline.

If you think you have opened an attachment, then run a virus scan to check the computer for malicious software. If you use one of the free antivirus software available then be sure to update your virus definitions if it does not do it automatically.

Emails like this are a reminder to ensure you have up-to-date virus protection software and a good firewall for your computer.

It feels as if we have been in East Sheen for a decade! It has been a long and eventful year since we first planted roots here in October 2010. Although not such a big move as we were previously based in Putney but a great move because we love East Sheen and its wonderful village feel.

We have made some great friends along the way, Steve from Pandemonium and the guys at The Complete Office over the road to mention a few. They have made us feel very welcome. We look forward to another great year in East Sheen and are excited for the future friendships that will be made. Thank you to everyone who has supported us and used our services.

PENSIONERS are being warned about a phone scam which tricks people into believing they have a virus on their computer.

Yvonne Griffiths, 65, was targeted by scammers who tried to urge her to buy £109 of bogus anti-virus software.

The retired Osmington resident said she has received six phone calls in three days telling her to turn her computer on because it has a fault.

In total, she says she has received at least 20 calls from people who say they are calling from the Microsoft Technical Department.

She added that the people at the other end of the phone are bullying, persistent and intimidating and is worried more vulnerable and elderly people could fall prey to the con.

Mrs Griffiths said: They start off by saying your computer is showing errors. The first chap I spoke to was very bullying and started to get abusive and would swear.

He kept saying Im going to help you with your computer and was asking me to turn my computer on.

Mrs Griffiths said her sister Pamela Warner, who lives in Orpington, Kent, was scammed by the same tricksters.

She said: Pamela was scammed earlier this year and rang up to tell me about it. They took £109 off her card for an ant-virus programme which she never received and the money went straight out of her account to an account in Cyprus.

Mrs Griffiths said she reported the calls to BT but they told her there was nothing they could do.

She added: The scammers are very bullying and very persistent. This chap was so abusive and it was very upsetting because he was shouting and it wasnt very nice.

I want to warn people about this, especially because vulnerable people could be very intimidated.

A spokesman for Dorset Police said reports have been received about victims receiving telephone calls or emails from fraudsters claiming to be from a major computer company claiming that the victim has a problem with their computer and offering to fix the problem remotely for a fee.

She added: The fraudsters normally charge in the region of £100 to £150, with the victim agreeing to pay by debit or credit card. However, the victims computer does not get fixed and they never hear from the supposed computer repair person again.

Dorset Police would advise members of the public not to agree to pay for services from people that they are not 100 per cent certain are genuine. If you have any doubt, do not part with your money.

Action Fraud, the UKs national fraud reporting centre, said they want to hear if people get ripped off or scammed.

A spokesman said: Microsoft does not make unsolicited phone calls to help you fix your computer.

Fraudsters make these phone calls to try to steal from you and damage your computer with malware. Treat all unsolicited phone calls with scepticism.

Anyone who has been defrauded by this scam or another scam should call 0300 123 2040 or report it online at actionfraud.org.uk

We would like to make you aware of a, particularly dangerous, scam that we have been alerted to by three customers within the space of a few days. Eddie was particularly worried because of a similar experience by a customer some time back which resulted in his personal data being corrupted to such an extent that the only possible way that it could be recovered was to engage the services of a professional recovery lab, a process costing almost £1,000.

The scam involves you receiving a call on your land line from an Asian sounding man claiming to be from Global Computer Maintenance Department (they could easily change this to another name) he explained that they were connected with Microsoft. In one instance, he actually knew the Customers name (we are unsure as to exactly how his organisation obtains this information as this customer is ex-directory).

He then proceeds to inform you that you have downloaded some unwanted files, have some infections/error messages on your computer or sometimes just asks if your computer is running slower than it should. He offers his help to put everything right and asks to be allowed remote access to your machine. This requires you to download some software from the web. In some instances they have mentioned downloading a program called AMMYY.

Once he has access to your machine, he is actually able to corrupt your personal data, rendering it unusable and, sometimes, completely hiding it from view. In some instances, it seems that they have actually copied folders. He will then tell you that, in order to fix the problem, you will require some special software, which he can supply, usually quoting a price in US Dollars, providing you are able to pay by debit, or credit card.

The caller informed one of our customers that he was based in Manchester, although another said he was in London. Both were prepared to give telephone numbers, although we do not know if they are genuine.

We suggest that if you are given a number do notcall it as it may be a premium rate or reverse charge number thus resulting in you paying a substantial amount for the call. If you ever receive a similar such call we suggest that you inform them that you already have an IT consultant who advises and supports you in this area and that they should contact them to discuss and finish the call as soon as possible.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO GIVE THEM OUR TELEPHONE NUMBER – 020 8392 8693. We hope that you will not experience such a call but hopefully you will now be armed and ready if you do!

A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer. The term virus is also used to refer to other types of malware, adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability. A virus can spread from one computer to another and can increase their chances of spreading to other computers by infecting files on a network.

Spyware is a type of malware. Spyware programs can collect various types of personal information, such as Internet surfing habits and sites that have been visited, but can also interfere with user control of the computer in other ways, such as installing additional software and redirecting Web browser activity. Spyware is known to change computer settings, resulting in slow connection speeds, different home pages, and/or loss of Internet or functionality of other programs. Malware is software designed to access your computer without your consent. The term Malware refers to malicious software and is intent on causing harm. Malware includes computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, spyware, dishonest adware, scareware, crimeware, most rootkits, and other malicious and unwanted software or program.

There are a lot of commercial antivirus software products on the market which you can purchase to protect your computer. Some even offer a trial period before you purchase it. There has been a rise in the spread of viruses recently and more and more we are being called upon by customers to get rid of them. We have noticed that some of the commercial antivirus software is not always fully preventing our customers pcs from being infected.

So what can you do? Well, there is a lot of free antivirus software available on the internet which you can download and install on your pc. We have found that the free versions are a lot less invasive on your pc and have picked up on unwanted viruses that the commercial versions have let through. To ensure that your computer is safe always update your antivirus software so that you have the latest virus definitions. We recommend that you do a full scan once a week and if you feel you need to do more you can run a quick scan every other day. As always use your common sense. If you have a suspicious email dont open it or if you get a message flashing on your screen saying that your computer is infected click here for a free scan, do not click the button. Here is some of the free antivirus software that we would recommend: Avira, Microsoft Security Essentials and Superantispyware.

As of the 1st November 2010 IT-Ed became part of Crest IT Services. This is a completely new venture made possible by your tremendous support to date and I hope that the change will bring about an even better standard of service. Rest assured that the same appreciation of your business will be carried forward to this new venture. Crest IT Services are based in our new offices situated in East Sheen but this will have no effect on the geographical areas currently covered. Our office includes a workshop facility where we can undertake repairs to computers, laptops, monitors and other electronic equipment. We will also be able to offer enhanced remote support.